SynthesisFrontiers in neurology2026
Sustained efficacy of acupuncture in post-stroke dysphagia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: To systematically evaluate the short-term and long-term (≥3 months post-treatment) efficacy and safety of acupuncture for post-stroke dysphagia (PSD), providing comprehensive evidence for clinical rehabilitation strategies. Methods: Conducted in strict adherence to the PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search of Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, VIP, Wanfang, CNKI, and CBM was performed from inception to March 18, 2026 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English or Chinese. Two independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment. Meta-analysis was conducted utilizing Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 18.0. Results: A total of 23 RCTs involving 2,224 patients were included. For short-term outcomes, acupuncture interventions significantly improved the Water Swallowing Test (WST) effective rate (RR = 1.50, 95% CI [1.31, 1.73], Conclusion: Acupuncture is a safe and potentially effective approach for post-stroke dysphagia, improving both short-term swallowing function and quality of life. Notably, these benefits appear to be sustained for at least 3 months post-treatment. Nevertheless, the overall certainty of evidence for short-term efficacy ranges from low to moderate, and the certainty for long-term sustained efficacy ranges from low (WST and SSA) to very low (SWAL-QOL), primarily due to inherent performance bias, publication bias, and imprecision due to limited long-term sample sizes, rather than clinical inconsistency. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261345975, identifier (CRD420261345975).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.